It was a good show, albeit it is accepted that it is a small show and really just caters for Queensland and cannot be compared to the bigger Sydney shows which are now co-located with up to four other shows.
The show usually attracts quite a few interstaters nevertheless, some combine a Gold Coast holiday with a day or two at the show.
I travelled down from Brisbane on the Friday and could only spend a few hours at the show due to other commitments. I took a video camera and pinned a few of the exhibitors down for a video shoot, mainly for the benefit of those that never made it to the show (see below).
Sign Essentials from Brisbane had what looked like the biggest stand, probably to emphasise their status as the industry’s leading Queensland supplier.
We are seeing more and more Chinese exhibitors at these shows as well, many of them in the LED lighting market.
We understood that there was not one square metre of exhibition space unsold by VISA.
One person commented that considering the show was only two weeks prior to the opening of the massive drupa show in Dusseldorf, we had the privilege of having a preview of many of the new wide format products that will be on show in Germany. Roland DG and Mimaki were good examples with several other equally big names previewing equipment for the first time.
I have tried to give you a very brief overview of the wide format exhibitors below and the wide format machinery that was on show
Anitech
Anitech had three brand spanking new pieces of kit at the show, firstly the Jetrix 1212 UV flatbed with a first global showing of the machine taking place at the Gold Coast.
The KIP C7800 is the latest in this toner based printer that can print up to 400 square metres per hour on paper up to 170 gram paper.
Then the Seiko Color Painter W-54S, a 54 inch machine that combines the benefit of HAPS inks, a true solvent that is Hazardour Airbourne Pollutants free.
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Australian Visual Solutions
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| AVS are always busy at these shows. |
AVS are omnipresent at the VIIE shows. CEO Cameron Sutherland takes more than his fair share of the work load when it comes to demonstrating the Roland DG machines working with 3M media. AVS have won many awards for their excellence of service and must rate as one of the fastest growing suppliers in the nation.
ColourGrafix
ColourGrafix based on the Gold Coast are also regulars at the shows. Being an Epson and Agfa dealer they have won praise for excellent service,
particularly in regard to getting technicians speedily and economically on site when needed.
Phil Burrell, CEO was proudly showing off his handy little grommet pliers which he sells for
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| Phil Burrell of ColourGrafix (with no head - apologies Phil) demonstrating his grommet p |
only $240.00. He spent much of the three days demonstrating how easy it was to put grommets into a variety of media quickly and very cheaply.
Corel
Corel were there in style with Gerard Metrailler, Corel Senior Director of Product Management (Graphics). Gerard was here with Richard Dodd to show off CorelDraw Graphics Suite X6. See our report on what is new in X6.
Cielab
Cielab, one of the fastest growing HP Dealers in Queensland was present at the show with CEO Michael Rooney walking around in a technicolour coat.
Michael also launched his own Digital Colour Management book at the show. With a cover price of $2.00, Michael will not get rich on book sales but he said that was not the intention,
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| Michael Rooney of cielab in his technicolour coat showing off his new book The Colour Guru |
the intention, he said was to urgently fill a big colour management gap in the wide format printing industry.
DGS Mimaki
DGS Mimaki, is Mimaki’s original distributor in our region and were proud to show for the first time the new JV400-160LX, Latex printers. With two models on show, Brad Creighton pointed out that whilst two 1600 mm machines were on show, a 1300 model is also available.
Also new on the DGS Mimaki stand was the UJF-3042 HG, a UV LED curable printer that excels at product marking. With a boost in speed and functionality the HG can accommodate product/media upto 150mm thick.
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Epson
Epson have expanded their offerings into the wide format eco solvent market with firstly their very popular GS6000 model (which was on sale at the show for under $10000.00) and the new SureColor SC-30600, Epson’s new low cost printer that uses UltraChrome GS2 ink for image superiority. UltraChrome GS2 eco-solvent ink is designed to work perfectly with the SC-S30600 and Epson’s new generation of TFP (thin film piezo) printheads.
Fuji Xerox
Fuji Xerox were showing off the Mutoh and Epson range as well as an extensive range of media and finishing equipment.
On show was the Acuity LED 1600, a high-performance wide-format inkjet printer featuring a proprietary-design LED light source, high precision and high
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| The Fuji Xerox stand with their portfolio of Mutoh and Epson printers and much more |
speed printhead, and fast curing UV-LED ink.
GBC Neopost
With Neopost as the new owners of GBC, the company has had a new lease on life. Saying goodbye to the HP dealership which the company had, they have now taken on Mimaki much to the surprise of many in the industry.
On show was the new Latex model (JV400-160LX) as well as the UJF-3042 HG UV-LED. David Chen, National Manager for the wide format products was very enthusiastic in his presentation of the products.
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GJS Machinery
GJS Machinery have had a resurge in vitality since Greg Stone has been at the helm. They have become one of the leaders in the region for all things screen printing, pad printing, digital textile printing and dye sublimation.
As the regions distributor for the popular Brother range of textile printers, they have managed to install several of these top end digital textile machines.
HP
A small stand for HP. On show was the new DesignJet L28500. Well known Jeremy Brew was on the stand to demonstrate this latest Latex model.
iMedia
iMedia had two Rastek models on show, including the new T1000 as well as the older T652. IMedia have down exceptionally well with the Rastek range. Both machines offer UV curable CMYK + white ink.
Océ Australia
The Océ Arizona exhibit on the Océ stand featured a mock workshop, with a “storage room” featuring examples of printed display materials, many cut with Océ’s ProCut cutting system.
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| The Océ Arizona exhibit. |
All materials were printed on the new Océ Arizona 318 GL flatbed UV printer, on display of the first time, and used Xanita’s X-board as the primary substrate.
Display Graphics Product Manager for Océ, Steven Badger, said X-strata was an excellent substrate in its ability to print, cut and build.
“All materials used in the exhibit were printed on the Océ Arizona, including an overhead banner and a lightbox that was used on the stand floor.
“It was a case of ‘walking the walk and talking the talk’”, says Badger.
“The exhibit was also recyclable. After the show, materials printed on X-board can be pulped and re-used, adding to its appeal.”
The Océ Arizona 318 GL printer delivers quality printing on the same robust platform as the Océ Arizona 360 GT printer at a price positioned for low volume production environments, while delivering the same application versatility
It is ideal for sign makers, smaller print providers, reprographers and other graphics producers who need true flatbed quality and capability but cannot afford a large capital investment.
Positive Camtec
Positive Camtec had a first showing of their swissqprint Impala. Phil Trumble was kept busy with demonstrations of this highly productive machine.
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Roland DG
Conrad Birkett took us around the stand. He kicked off with the brand new VersaArt RE-640 and then led us onto a new model of the popular VersaStudio BN20, which includes a choice of metallic or white ink .
Typically Roland was their emphasis on the various applications that can be handled by their equipment. In this case Conrad showed off the ability to create amazing interior panelling.
Lastly we were shown the VersaCamm VS series that now can include double white.
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Sign Essentials
Sign Essentials divided their stand into two sections, one displaying their CNC routers and the other was devoted to the first Queensland showing of the
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| Sign Essentials had a big stand at the show with the wide format printing side dominated by the TekStorm TS-300 flatbed UV printer |
TekStorm TS-300 flatbed UV machine plus a selection of Roland DG machines.
As we said in the intro, it could very well be that Sign Essentials had the biggest and most impressive stand at the show.
Stahls Pacific
Stahls have built up a huge amount of experience with dye sublimation and heat presses. The company had on display their “Bling Corner”( Corporate Logos in Rhinestones); new Cad Cut stretchable products for textiles; new stretchable printable Sub Blocker; new Chameleon Range in 6 colours for fashion and spectacular effects with other materials; all products are 100% PVC free and Stahls’ only stock and promote PVC Free products; popular Fusion Heat Press was on show.
Wilenco Systems (T?A Print & Cut Solutions)
Wilenco are one of Roland DG's foremost dealers, so visitors were able to see the latest machines being demonstrated. The company also has a wide portfolio of other products, including cutters, laminators as well as media and heat transfer media.
The company concentrates on both the Queensland and New South Wales markets.
